We're Only Human (Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfiction)
by XxXWeAsHumanXxX
Summary: (This is centered at the end of the series) Ed and Al are sucked into the gate after Ed attempted to retrieve Al's body from the gate. Truth decides to send them on a journey to America, the Land of the Free. They encounter many things, including a hyperactive, anime obsessed teen. ***This is a repost of my story on !*** Warning: Profuckingfanities!
1. Chapter 0

_XxXWeAsHumanXxX: Welcome ladies and gents to meh Fullmetal Alchemist Fan-fiction! If you see any mistakes, please tell me!_

 _((This is my first time posting on this site. This is a re-post of my story on Wattpad! I'm not used to the format of this site yet!))_

* * *

Eds POV

 _Al and I pressed their palms to the transmutation circle, and it lit up a blue color. Soon, the blue alchemical sparks turned to a ruby red and a violent shade of purple._

 _"B-Brother!" I turned to the younger blond. Alphonse's body was being torn apart by tiny black hands that came from a gate with a giant eye in the center._

 _"Al!" I reached for my brother and nearly reached him, but the younger brother was fully broken down from the gate._

 _My face contorted into one full of pain and agony and I clutched my left thigh. Sticky red blood oozed from the wound unrelentingly._

 _A low moan erupted from the fog and Edward looked over._

 _"M-mom?" Tears sprung in my eyes, and a hopefully expression mixed with my agonized one._

 _My gold eyes widened as I caught sight of a twitching corpse. It tilted back and stared at him with it's mouth gaping open. The corpses organs were spilled against the concrete floor and a crimson fluid flowed from the thing._

 _I leaned back and my stomach churned making me empty the contents of my stomach onto the concrete. I peered at Al's clothes._

 _"Al... Dammit!" I clutched my leg tighter. "This-This wasn't suppose to happen!" I slowly crawled to a suit of armor and drew a transmutation circle with my blood. "Take my arms! Take my legs, and even my heart! Just give me back my little brother! He's all I have left!" I slammed my hands roughly onto the circle and a bright white light enveloped me._

 _"Brother, wake up. We're here." My eyes shot open and I took a couple shaky breaths before standing up and wiping my sweaty palms onto my red coat. Al's gold hair flopped in his face._

 _"Lets go Al."_

* * *

I ran my left hand through my drenched locks and sighed lowly. I hate the rain... It makes my ports ache like hell. My red trench coat trailed behind me as Al and I briskly made our way down the halls.

A shoulder roughly collided with Alphose's making him stumble back, but not enough to make him trip. Regardless, I grabbed a fist-full of the bastards T-Shirt and lowered him so I could see him eye to eye. Al pulled me away from the boy by tugging my ear roughly

"Come on Brother, we're going to be late to first bell if you keep this up."

Al walked up to the boy who looked like he was going to piss his trousers.

"Sorry 'bout that, my Brother can get a little carried away." He slightly bowed his head and grabbed my ear once again to drag me away from the poor boy.

"O-ouch! What the hell was that for?" I messaged my ear and gave him an innocent look. Alphonse rolled his eyes an gave me a pointed look before pointing to the clock on his wrist. " Shit! "

He shook his head and waved before taking off.

I hastily entered the classroom and looked around causing my heart rate to accelerate as I took in all students. I shook my head violently back and forth. This is nothing compared to what you usually face, pull yourself together.

The bell sounded.

" Ah, you the new student Edward Elric, correct? " A man with a long face and balding head approached me. I nodded lightly and shifted from one foot to another awkwardly.

"I'm Mr. White, welcome to English."

He turned forward to face the class.

"Class, this is Edward, welcome him with open arms. " I gagged in my mind mentally, but my face stayed neutral. Murmurs erupted from the students. Most of the whispers were comments on whether I was a delinquent or not based on my choice of attire.

My ears turned pink from all the attention.

"Edward, take a seat near Peter. Peter can you raise your hand?" A ghostly pale and shaky hand rose into the air.

He was the kid from earlier.

Grumpily, I sat near the bastard with a humph. Starring out the window, I absent-mindingly drew alchemy symbols on my worksheet.

Can we preform alchemy on this side of the Gate?

* * *

The bell tolled, and I shot out of my seat and half walked, half jogged toward the closed door. In one fluid motion, I was out of that hell-hole.

Is Al okay? I haven't seen him all day.

I took a right down the hall and stopped at my locker.

36-05-27

I twisted the handle and swung open the faded red locker. I squeezed my eyes shut at the sudden pain in my back and arched my back forward while biting my lip to keep the whimper of pain. I dipped my head forward while a drop of sweat dripped from my chin. I really hate the rain... I straightened my back and shoved my books into my bag with minimal use of my right arm and swung my bag over my left shoulder.

Time to find Al.

* * *

Al's POV

The map in my hands crinkled as I shoved it deep into my front pants pocket of my jeans. Wheres my locker? I took a deep intake of breath and let it out in a sigh... When I was in armor I could easily see over the swarm of students.

A girl with brown hair in a messy bun tripped to my left. Her papers scattered every which direction. I bent down to my knees and helped her pick up the wad of papers.

"Thanks..." She looked down at her hands to fix the papers into a neat stack and shoved them into her bag.

The girl raised her head and her bright orange eyes trained on my Brown ones. "I'm Ann." She extended her palm. I took her hand and gently shook it twice.

"I'm Alphonse, pleased to meet you." I gave her a toothy grin and received a small smile in return. She rose from her crouch and helped me up.

"See you Alphonse." She turned and began to walk away.

"Wait!" I ran after and she turned to me with a confused look plastered on her face. "Can you help me find my locker?" My ears heated up.

"Sure." She turned again with me at her heels and we maneuvered through the mass of bodies. "Whats your locker number?"

I hastily grabbed the rumpled paper from my pocket and handed it to her.

"672..." She grinned. "That's near my locker." I gave her another wide smile and we continued to walk.

" Hey... Alphonse? "

"You can call me Al." She smiled and nodded her head.

"Al, are you new here?" I nodded my head in response making my blond hair flick into my eyes.

"Yeah, my brother and I just got here about a week ago." I wonder where Ed is right about now...

"I figured as much. Where did you guys use to live?" I gulped and looked down at my hands.

"Oklahoma." Brother told me to say that. Who would believe we used to live on the other side of the gate? Brother said that this ' Oklahoma ' place is similar to Resemble (Probably spelled wrong, sorry!).

My stomach turned. I don't like lying...

"Whats your brothers name?" I sighed in relief.

"Edward. You can call him Ed though. He hates being called short... and milk." Ann and I laughed.

I saw Ed's crimson coat at my locker. His eyes were scrunched up and he was massaging his right shoulder.

"Brother." Ed's eyes snapped and he removed his hand from his shoulder and grinned.

"Al..." He looked over at Ann confused. His golden eyes trained on me expectingly.

"I'm Ann. You must be Ed. Al told me about you." She grinned. "Huh... Your shorter than I thought." I sweat dropped. Didn't I tell her he didn't like to be called short... ?

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PEA SIZED MIGET THAT HAS TO JUMP REACH THE DOOR HANDLE?!" A vein bulged from his head.

Ann doubled over and began laughing so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.

"M-my st-stomach! A-Al h-elp!" I rolled my eyes and glanced at Ed who was still fuming and was muttering profanities under his breath. I reached over to my locker and dialed the combination and transfered my books to my green bag.

"I'll see ya tomorrow Al!" Ann was still laughing and wiping tears as she walked away. I shut my locker.

"You ready Nii-San?" Ed looked at me and gave me a wide smile and shoved me backwards.

"I'll beat you there!" He took off towards the exit.

"That's no fair Nii-San!" I sprinted after him.

* * *

Ed's POV:

The lights above our apartment shone over head and flickered annoyingly. Al held out two thin rectangular objects in his palm offering me one. I took the fragile thing in my hand and observed the way the lights reflected over the black screen.

"What is it Al?" Al had an amused expression plastered on his face before taking his and pressing a button on the top making the black screen glow a blue color. My eyes widened and I stepped backwards straight into the tan sofa. I flipped over the couch and hit my head on the hard wood of our floor. Al barked out a laugh.

"It's an phone, Brother. Nothing to freak out about. Everyone on this side of the gate has one. Yesterday, Ann let me play a game on hers." I narrowed my eyes at the mention of that brown headed she-devil. Al gave me a light glare and smiled wider.

"The game was called 'Flappy birds'. You have to tap the screen and make the bird fly in between the pipes." His eyes shone in excitement before he tapped the ' phone' and then shoved it into my palms. "I bet you can't beat my highscore." I gave him a smirk and peered down at the screen while rubbing the back of my head.

On the home screen shown the number '24'. I grinned. This shouldn't be too hard.

"Oh, and Brother." I turned my attention to him. "Don't touch the screen with your automail. You'll scratch the screen. " I nodded before settling onto the demon couch. That damn couch had it out for me.

\- Three minutes later...

"Damn this thing!" An irk mark appeared on my forehead. I tossed it into the tan couches cushions. Al retrieved it and peered at the screen.

"4." He read off the screen. "Your highscore is 4?" Al erupted into a fit of laughter while I grew angrier.

My face flushed red in embarrassment before I pushed of the couch hastily. Al trained his brown eyed on my gold ones, tears threatening to fall from him laughing so hard. I shoved my gloved hands into the pockets of my leather black trousers.

Taking in a deep calming breath, I turned to Al.

"I'm going to head off to work. I'll be home before dark." I gave him a small smile before turning and walking into my bedroom. I grabbed my work uniform and headed into the bathroom shutting the door behind me. Turning the knob, warm water gushed out of the pipes. I stripped out of my black tee and pants and walked under the shower.

After I finished washing, I turned off the water and pushed the dark blue curtains aside. I looked into the mirror and noted the pink scar across my chest and averted my eyes.

A knock erupted from the white door.

"Are you done Brother? You have to leave in less than eight minutes." I blinked and picked up the thin fabric of my long-sleeved, bright blue work shirt and slid it over my head. After sliding on my boxers and tan pants, I opened the door to my smiling little brother.

I slipped on my white gloves.

"I'll be back soon Al." I twisted my hair into a braid and grabbed my brown work shoes along with my keys and money for a bus ticket there and back. "Bye Al." I turned and opened the white front door that was at least 4 feet taller than me.

"Bye brother, be safe."

* * *

My pace quickened as I saw the orangish red sky fading into a purple. Al was going to throw a fit if I get any later.

I heard a shrill feminine scream a few blocks to my left and I turned toward the direction of the scream. Sprinting down into the alleyway, I heard another scream pierced the otherwise silent night.

While I pushed myself faster, the street lights began I flicker on. I skidded into the alleyway causing a dust cloud to for behind me, and charged at the man who was dragging a dark haired teen toward a blue car by her wrist. My metal fist connected to the bastards cheek forcing the man to release the girl's waist as he soared into a brick wall.

The woman fell backwards and twisted around to land on her knees. Tears streamed down her bruised cheekbone.

"Ann?" Said orange eyed woman looked up with tears still running down her face. She rubbed her fist over her eyes wiping away the tears.

"Ed?" She inhaled a ragged breath before pulling herself up and slamming into my chest. She sobbed loudly and the man groaned as he sat up painfully. He chuckled darkly as the knife in his palm reflected the street lights.

"You little brat!" He growled out. "Do you know who I am?" I looked at the man calmly while Ann stiffened against my chest, her hold tightening. I took her arms and maneuvered her behind me. The man charged at me his knife aiming at my chest, and I grabbed the wrist that held the blade, twisting his arm behind his back.

"Knives Aren't toys, ya know. You could seriously hurt somebody." He struggled against my hold, and I tightened my grip on the man. I heard the distant sounds of sirens and he thrashed more violently in my hold.

"My Boss is 'gonna get you! He's gonna make you pay!" He growled out to me.

"Sure he is..." The police pulled into the ally and I handed them the violent man. He yelled threats and profanities at me, promising that this big bad 'Boss' is going I kill me. Ha.

I turned toward Ann, her small form was shaking in fear. The sky was a dark blackish-purple and the stars twinkled in the night sky.

"Damn it! Al's going to have my head!" I gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulders before racing off toward the buses hoping that the bus hadn't left yet.

* * *

Ann's POV

I rubbed my drooping eyes as the yellow bus came to a stop. Damn Ed leaving me with all of those police officers and reporters... I swear, when I see that pipsqueak I'm going to cut his stomach open and make him slowly walk around a tree wrapping him intestines around it, causing him to slowly bleed to death. I chuckled darkly.

Don't get my wrong, I'm thankful that he saved me from 'them'... Just the thought of that twisted bastard makes me shiver. I caught sight of a certain short blond and headed toward his direction.

"Hey shortie, how's the weather down there? Chilly?" An irk mark appeared on his head and he threw his arms into the air and twirled them in a spastic fashion. My sore face stretched into a grin.

"Who the hell are you calling a pea sized midget?! You guys are just freakishly tall!" A few people turned to look at Ed with an amused expression on their faces. The midget's ears glowed a bright red shade. A few chuckles escaped me before a serious expression crossed my face.

"Thanks for punching that sunofabitch, if you hadn't been there when you did, I probably wouldn't be here right now..." I dipped my head forward and my bangs hung over my eyes. A furious blush shaded my cheeks.

His laugh sounded making me jerk my head up. I hadn't expected this reaction at all. The midget blond placed his hands on his hips and gave me a wide grin.

"Turn your ass around and find my brother. He's worried sick about you." I flashed a small smile and turned in the opposite direction and raced off.

The warning bell sounded. Shit...

I burst into my first class. Alphonse's head snapped up and I gave a small wave to him as I made my way to my desk. I was having a very interesting conversation in the wooded surface of my desk.

Mr. Smiths lecture droned in the background as I doodled a hand shaped into a peace sign on my desk. A hand nudged my shoulder. Nudge. Nudge. Nudge. Nu- I twisted around to face the culprit with an irk mark on my forehead. Al's innocent brown eyes bore into my pissed orange ones.

My eyes softened.

"What's up?" I whispered. Al handed me a wrinkled scrap of paper.

 _"Ed told me what happened last night. Is your cheek okay?"_

I took my pencil and scribbled a response, and looked at the teacher who was scribbling an equation on the board. I turned and placed the note on his desk discretely and turned forward again. He tapped my shoulder after a few seconds and I grabbed the paper and looked at the message.

 _" My cheeks fine Al. That bastard just surprised me that's all. "_

 _"That's a relief. when brother came home late last night he told me what happened. I can tell he embellished the story a bit. Did you know who that guy was? Brother also mentioned something about a boss.. Do you know anything about it?"_

I bit my lip to keep in a chuckle, and frowned a bit at the last question. I don't want to lie to Al, but he wouldn't understand...

 _"No, I didn't recognize the guy, nor do I have any clue about this 'boss' person he mentioned. What did Your pipsqueak of a brother have to say? I ran into him this morning. It's so fun to tease him."_ I placed the note book paper on his desk.

The teacher pointed at the equation and demonstrated how to solve it. A few hands raised and they were called on one by one. I could hear the scribbling of Al's pencil behind me, then the crunch of folding paper. He placed the note into my outstretched hand.

 _"He went on and ON about how you called him your 'hero' after he 'heroically' saved you, and that he beat him with only his pinkie. Brother's a little crazy at times..."_ I let out a small chuckle before lifting my pencil to scribble a response.

 _"That sounds like him. I'll tell you the REAL story at lunch, peace."_ I passed the paper back to Al then I leaned my head on my palm and slouched forward.

The teacher pointed to a stack of papers and announced that it was due tomorrow as the bell sounded.

* * *

 _XxXWeAsHumanXxX: Alrighty! Thanks a bunch for reading!_


	2. Chapter 1

_XxXWeAsHumanXxX: Guten Tag! Enjoy ze story!_

* * *

Ed's POV:

I shoved through the wall of students on my way to the lunchroom, my red jacket trailing behind me.

In the cafeteria, I saw Al and Ann at our usual table talking excitingly about something. Al turned and saw me and he waved me over,and shoved a paper so close to my face it made me cross eyed.

Snatching the paper from his hands, I looked at the poster. It had elephants, and lions on it with men wearing bright colors and tomatoes on their noses. My eyebrow raised.

"It's the circus, brother! Can we go? Please!" I looked back to the poster and saw that the 'circus' was Sunday from 9 to 11 at night.I didn't have word Sundays... I brought my index finger to my chin and pretended to think. Al squirmed on the bench and I smiled.

"I guess we can go... " Al jumped up from his seat and did a mini victory dance.

"Hey Ed." I turned to Ann. "Maybe at the circus there will be someone shorter than you? Probably not though... Your as small as they get." My face turned red.

"Who are you calling a tiny bug that escapes the wrath of a shoe because he's so small that he fits in the grooves and can't get squashed?!" Ann grinned and took a bite of her burger. She chewed and swallowed.

"You." My face turned even redder and Alphonse fretted in between the two of us trying to break our mini quarrel.

I sighed and sank onto the cold lunch bench and opened the packed lunch Alphonse prepared earlier this morning. I pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich, a mini red apple, and a purple Hug. Alphonse sank his teeth into his green apple while he laughed at the She-Devils antics. I picked up my sandwich with my left hand and took a bite, while I rested my head against my right automail palm.

"Brother! Are are you excited about the circus?" I swallowed my food and nodded my head."Ann tells me that there's going to be elephants and lions, and candy floss too!" I licked my lips an the mention of the delicious candy.

"Candy floss?" Ann tilted her head in confusion and Al scratched the back or his head.

"Candy floss is more commonly known as cotton candy." I dryly explained to Ann and took a quick swig of my Hug. The teachers began dismissing the students from the cafeteria. I stood and ruffled Al's hair before walking to the exit of the lunchroom.

* * *

Al sat across from me as I dried my shoulder length blond hair with a towel.

"Brothherrr, hurry up! You take more time than Winry to get ready." Al whined impatiently, and I sighed.

I took my hairbrush and ran it through my hair before pulling the soaked strands into a tight braid. Grabbing my usual red cloak and white gloves and herded Al to the bathroom door.

"Geez, don't have an aneurysm, Al." Said man rolled his eyes as he pulled his shoes on. I grabbed my wallet and keys in our way out of the front door.

* * *

Al and I approached the tan tent that was crowded with civilians and clowns giving out balloons. Ann stood under a lamp looking at her phone.

"Hey, Ann!" Al shouted over the bystanders while waving frantically. Ann's head perked up and she shoved her cell in her back pocket.

"Hey guys, you ready?" Al nodded enthusiastically and I just shrugged. Ann grinned and stood tall while pointing a finger at the tent.

"March my loyal servants." I rolled my eyes at Ann's comment and gave her a mocking salute.

"Aye, aye Captain."

* * *

We maneuvered through the throngs of people and made it to the ticket booth.

"Hello, how many?" A chubby man with cake loads of makeup on his face inquired in a monotonous tone.

"Three." I handed the man the money and he placed three sweaty tickets into my palms.

"Enjoy the show."

We walked away from the booth and headed toward the snack booth and bought some Candy floss and other tooth rotting sweets. I took a huge bite of my candy floss while we sat in the stands. The lights dimmed and a spotlight shown on a short stubby clown.

"Hello ladies and gents! Welcome to the circus!"

The stands erupted into cheers and hollers and the clowns came in on unicycles while juggling bowling pins. The spot lights spun and a metal cage rolled out. Inside the cage, a lion paced back and forth and some acrobats swung from ropes and walked in the ropes too.

Al's jaw was practically on the floor. I chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Come on Al, your gonna catch flies." Al blushed but continued to stare awestruck at the performers who were currently doing crazy flips in the air and being caught by the ankles by other performers.

Every time they landed, the crowd bursted into a loud applause. The lion was let out of its cage and began to jump from pillar to pillar. The lion tamer stood by the lion and took a bow before herding it back into the cage.

Once it was wheeled out, dozens of men on elephants came out and circled the arena. In the middle of the arena, a man on stilts had a brown monkey on his shoulders. I took another bite of my candy floss.

"Ladies and gentlemen." The man on the stilts addressed the crowd.

The men on the elephants looked confused. The man in the middle held out his hand and his ring began to shine a bright red glow. "Are you ready to be amazed?"

The monkey on his shoulder jumped and grew more than half it's original size. Al and I gasped and eyed each other for a split second. I finished my candy floss and set the stick to the side.

"Thinking what I'm thinking, Al?" Al nodded his head with a serious look on his face. Ann looked lost. The man on stilts let out a laugh that sent chills down my spine.

"Get 'em, boy"

The giant monkey charged at the crowd and everyone began to scream and try to get to the nearest exit, while Al and I remained in our seats.

"Come on guys! Let's get out of here." Ann had a fearful expression on her face. I grinned and stood up, Al following suit.

"You ready to rumble Al?" The stands were empty besides the three of us and the strange man with the monkey chimera in the middle of the arena.

"Are you guys crazy? Let's get out of here!" I sent Al a look. He nodded and grabbed Ann's wrist.

"Let's go Ann." Ann seemed conflicted.

"What about your brother? Isn't he coming too?" Her voice shook. Al shook his head.

"He'll be okay. We just need to get out if here and let him take care of it." He began to pull her away. She sent me a wary glance and I nodded. Al and her disappeared through the exit. I turned toward the man.

"It seems we're the only two left... " He sent me a creepy grin and held up his hand. "I take it you know what this is." I clenched my fist.

"The Philosophers Stone... now hand it over!" He shook his finger at me.

"Now, now Eddie-Kun. Let's not get carried away. I gritted my teeth and tensed my shoulders ready to spring.

"How'd you know my name?" He chuckled and my anger grew. "TELL ME!?"

"There's no reason to be angry Edward Elric. Tell you what. If you defeat me, I'll tell you how I know your name." I smirked.

"Alright... Let's go!" I lunged at the man.

* * *

Ann's POV:

After we were out if the tent, I planted my feet down into the dirt. Al gave my a nervous look.

"How could you leave your brother like that?!" Al blinked and rubbed the back if his neck nervously.

"Brothers going to be fine, don't worry. He's tougher than he looks." I gave him a disbelieving look.

"There was a giant gorilla for gods sake! What the hell do you mean he's going to be fine?!" Al sighed and gave my a smile.

"You're just going to have to trust me." I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Bullshit." I muttered under my breath. Al smiled even wider and pulled me toward a rusting bench under a lamp. Moths buzzed around the bulb and the moon was covered in clouds.

We sat down and waited.

* * *

Ed's POV:

I chapped my gloved hands and pressed them to the dirt floor. A blue light crackled and a spear made of stone stood at the ready in my palms.

He touched his hands to his wooden stilts and a red light erupted. When the alchemical reaction dissipated, I saw two machine guns in his possession. He laughed manically and fired randomly in my general direction. I quickly clapped my hands and pressed them to the dirt and made the earth climb up into a wall to protect me from the bullets.

"Your a worse aim than that phony priest in Liore." He sent me a glare. "My turn."

I charged at the man with a spear, his monkey jumped toward my right side and gabbed my automail arm. The chimera flung me toward a wall and I made a dent.

I stood up and wiped some sweat from my brow. The man looked at me with wide eyes before ordering the giant monkey to attack again. I pushed myself off the wall and jabbed the monkey away with the butt of my spear. The chimera hit a ladder and was down for the count.

The man backed up and began to sprint toward the nearest exit.

"You coward!" I ran after the man with my ripped cloak trailing behind me.

* * *

Ann's POV:

While Al and I were sitting on the bench, the man from the arena ran out of the exit with Ed on his tail. Edward's jacket was in shreds, but he looked practically unharmed.

Al stood and ran after the culprit as well. Ed clapped his hands and pressed them to the dirt. A blue light crackled and the ground under the man trapped him in a cage. What the hell?

Ed stood up from his crouched position and walked up to the caged man.

"Now, who are you and how do you know my name?" The man glared at Ed, then he smiled wickedly.

"Eddie-kun, Eddie-kun... Your forgetting something." He raised his hand and emphasized his ring. Ed's eyes widened and he quickly backed away from the cage.

"Shit!-" the man placed his palm to the bars and made the medal stakes shoot towards Ed's torso.

"Ed!"

"Brother!" Al pulled Ed out of the way just in time so it only grazed his right shoulder and I collapsed to my knees in relief. I'm SO going to kill him when this is over.

Ed ripped his shredded jacket the rest of the way off exposing some gleaming metal. Al sent me a glance and whispered something to Ed. Ed looked at me and I gave him a look that said 'you better explain what the hells going on'.

Ed told Al something and they seemed to argue for a second before Al consented.

Alphonse walked over to me and helped me stand up. "I'm going to take you home, okay." I stiffly nodded and we began to run towards the bus station.

* * *

Ed's POV:

I watched their retreating figures for a second before focusing on the problem at hand.

The bastard looked at me and smiled even wider. He pisses me off. I tensed my legs and prepared to fight him. He grabbed the armrest of the bench Alphonse and Ann were previously on and transmuted another machine gun.

"I heard the rumors, but I didn't know they were true... You really did commit the taboo! Your really interesting... But your in the way of our plans, so DIE!" He began to fire and I clapped my hands and slammed them on he dirt again and a pillar of each shielded me yet again.

"That won't work!" The dust cleared and I saw the man running toward me with two pistols in his possession. I transmuted my auto-mail arm into a shield and darted towards him. The bullets deflected off my armor and one of them hit him in his left thigh.

He released a pain filled screech and fell to the dirt, clutching his leg and dropping his weapons. I walked forward slowly in his direction, watching for any signs of foul play. His eyes widened and he backed away from me.

"Stay back!" He swung his arm wildly in an attempt to ward me off.

"A deals a deal. I defeated you, so you have to tell me what I wanna know." He glared at me and backed into a tree. He opened his mouth and a loud crack resonated through the lot. The man collapsed to the side with blood gushing from a hole in his head. blood splattered on my face and my eyes widened in horror.

* * *

Ann's POV:

Al pulled me through his apartment door by my wrist and flicked the light switch. I tugged my wrist away and shot him a glare while I massaged my sore arm. He sent me an apologetic look and gestured towards the couch.

"Do you want to take a seat while I make some tea? " My glare lightened and I sat down.

Al walked into the other room and I heard some pots and pans clattering. A few of minutes later Al returned with two glasses filled with some steaming tea. He handed me a glass carefully and took a seat as well. He cleared his throat.

"I guess you have some questions..." I nodded and took a sip of my beverage.

"Ed's arm... why was it metal?" Al sighed and took a sip from his own cup and leaned back onto the couch.

"I guess I should start from the beginning... this could take a while." I nodded and took out my phone.

"I'm going to call my mom and let her know that I won't be coming home tonight." I dialed her number and it rung a few times before it was picked up.

"Hello Ann, is the circus done already?"

"Yeah, since it's so late I'm staying at Alphonse's house, is that okay?"

"That's fine, just don't do anything you might regret!~~" I blushed.

"M-mom! It's not like that!" I cleared me throat. " Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"I love you too sweetie, remember to use a cond-" I hung up the phone. Al smiled at me.

"What did your mom say?" I blushed and shook my head. Al stood up with his empty glass and held out his hand for my left to the kitchen with the glasses in hand.

I sighed and sunk further into the couch cushions. My eyes roamed around the room and took in the light walls and the dark oak floor. I jumped as Al settled next to me on the couch.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I shook my head and gestured for him to spill the beans. "Well, to start my brother and I grew up in a small town called 'Resembool' which is a small village in Amestris.

When we were young, our father, Van Hohenheim, left us at a young age, and we lived with our mother, Trisha." Al had a sad, faraway look in his eyes. " Our mother would always smile when we used alchemy." I gave him a confused look.

"Alchemy is the science of equivalent exchange. To make something, you must give something of equal value in return. Alchemy is typically done with a transmutation circle."

He stood up and grabbed a pulled out a piece of chalk out of his pocket and knelt on the floor. He drew a circle onto his wooden floor boards and returned his chalk to his pants pocket. Al then clapped his hands and placed them on the edge of the circle.

A blue lightning like light crackled and when it dissipated, there was a small horse figurine. Al picked it up an put it into my out stretched palms. I looked at all the little details on the tiny wooden horse.

"My brother was always better at transmutation than I. Our mother passed away from a terminal illness, and my brother and I made up our minds to try and revive our mom."

I openly gawked at this. Bringing people back from the dead? Al ignored me and continued.

"One day there was a severe rainstorm and my brother and I tried to transmute a giant wall of earth to stop the advancing water, but our wall crumpled under the force of the water.

A lady came out of nowhere and transmuted an earth wall many times larger than ours. We asked her if we could train under her, at first she refused our requests, but eventually she agreed to train us if we could pass her test." I cocked my head to the side.

"Test?" Al nodded.

"Yeah, the test was to figure out what 'All is One, and One is All.' meant. if we couldn't figure out what it meant, she wouldn't teach us."

"That doesn't sound really fair to me." Al stood from his crouch on the floor and settled back onto the tan couch.

"That's what we thought at first too. I'm just going to skip the month on the island, it's not really important. Basically we weren't allowed to use alchemy while we were on the island.

Eventually, Ed figured out what it meant and we trained under our teacher, Izumi Curtis. After we completed our training, we returned to Resembool and attempted human transmutation.

Human transmutation is a forbidden science. Ed lost his leg and I lost my body. In order to save me, bother sacrificed his arm to Truth, and bound my soul to a suit of armor." Al smiled lightly.

"A man named Roy Mustang came and offered brother a chance to become a state alchemist. Ed asked Winry and granny Pinako to make him an artificial arm and leg, which is typically called auto-mail.

After a year of rehabilitation, Ed became a state alchemist. (Al purposely avoided talking about Nina).

Through our journey to get our bodies back, we came across many things like humonculous, or an artificial being.

On a day labeled as 'the promised day' we fought the humonculous one last time and Ed was killed by a humonculous called Envy. I tried bringing Ed back and I succeeded, but I was taken into the gate. Ed brought back my body and soul," He gestured to himself. " but we were both sucked into the gate and turned up here. That's basically it." I sat there and processed all of this for a second.

"Damn..." Al blinked and then laughed heartedly. As he was laughing a worn Edward entered through the white front door. He appeared to be slightly dazed, but he didn't look like he was hurt. Al stood up.

"Brother... What's wrong?" Ed looked up into Al's brown eyes.

"He shot him..." Al's eyebrows scrunched up.

"What are you talking about?"

"The man I was fighting... was murdered by the man that I sent to prison..." My eyes widened.

* * *

 _XxXWeAsHumanXxX: I'm not the best at fighting scenes, but I tried! *steals oscar*_


	3. Chapter 2

_XxXWeAsHumanXxX: Chappy two! Thanks for reading!_

* * *

 **Ed's POV:**

I took in a deep breath and turned to face Al's sleeping form adjacent to me.

His deep even breaths relaxed me slightly. Al's golden hair slipped over the bridge of his nose and he let out a small sneeze. I chuckled under my breath and rose off the bed to kneel next to Alphonse to brush his bangs away and tuck them under his ear. I rose to my feet and tiptoed to the white door and opened it softy.

Quickly exiting, I shut the door behind me.

Ann turned in her sleep with a disturbed expression on her pale sweating form. Drips of sweat trailed off her chin and she let out a low whimper. I crouched beside her and shook her frail frame. Her eyes snapped open to reveal her wide orange eyes. She panted while clutching her shirt.

"You okay?" I asked her uncertainly. She gulped and nodded her head forcefully. I frowned a bit. "You were having a nightmare, do you wanna talk about it?" She sat up straight on the couch and wiped the sweat off her forehead and wiped her palm onto her blue jeans.

"No, I'm fine." She smiled forcefully and I sighed. I ruffled her brown hair and she softly screeched in surprise.

"What the hell?!" I grinned before standing from my crouch.

"I'll be back." She nodded and I turned and walked into my moonlit bedroom. Al's soft breaths and my quiet motions were heard as I rummaged through my dresser drawers.

I pulled out grey sweatpants and a black T-shirt before I silently shut the drawer and exited the room. "Here." I handed Ann the bundle. "You'll probably want to shower." Ann nodded and stood.

"Where's the bathroom?" I pointed to the door right next to my bedroom. She walked into the bathroom and I heard the lock click behind her.

* * *

 **Ann's POV:**

I stood under the gushing water and looked at my shaking hands and balled them into fists.

I continued to wash away the dirt that was collected from the other day. Turning the water off, I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel to dry.

Outside the door I could hear Ed's snores. He must have fallen back to sleep. I dressed in the sweatpants and T-shirt that were slightly too big for me and exited the bathroom.

Ed was sound asleep on the tan sofa clutching a silver watch to his chest. I knelt beside him and gently pried his fingers off the pocket watch. I tried I open the watch but it seemed like it was welded shut. Shrugging, I placed the watch onto the coffee table and headed towards the front door.

I gently opened the door and shut it behind me before sighing and stretching my back.

Sitting down on the damp grass, I peered up at the sky. The moon still shone high in the sky, but you could see the sun peeking out over the horizon.

* * *

 **Ed's POV:**

I let out a small breath and sat up from the sofa. I shouldn't have slept on the couch, my back aches. My eyes roamed around the room and eyed my state alchemist watch that rested on the coffee table. I grabbed the watch and ran my thumb over all the dents and imperfections. I gently set it back into the table and stood while stretching my back making it pop.

My 'phone' that was also on the table began to ring. I grabbed the object dismissed my alarm that was set for 7:30 and shoved it into my jean pocket. I walked into my bedroom and shook Alphonse. He rose into a sleeping position and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"What time is it?" Alphonse yawned.

"7:30, get up and get ready for school." Al pushed the blanket off himself and stood as I walked out the door to find Ann.

A couple of minutes later, I found her leaning against our house sleeping. I sighed and knelt next to her and shook her gently. "Ann, get up. We have to leave soon." She opened her orange eyes and glared at me, but stood up and stretched her back.

"What time is it, shorty?" I gritted my teeth and held back my retort.

"Around 7:40. we have to leave and catch the bus by 8:10." She just nodded and yawned while opening the front door and letting herself in.

"What's for breakfast?" Al peered out ini the living room with his cat apron tied to his waist and wiped some flour from his cheek.

"Pancakes." I licked my lips and Ann looked like she was about to drool.

* * *

 **Ann's POV:**

We sat at the kitchen table in a comfortable silence. While I was taking a bite I my syrup covered pancakes, I saw a glint if metal in the corner of my eye.

I dropped my fork and tugged Ed's right arm so I could have a closer look. I pulled his red jacket (Not his cloak, it's a hoodie he recently purchased) upward. The metal plates and screws reflected my eyes.

"What the hell?!" Ed's voice was muffled from his mouth full of pancakes. His arm was slightly rusted from the lack of maintenance. Ed tugged his arm away and tugged down his sleeve.

"I wanted to look at your arm." he rolled his eyes. I reached for his arm again and he moved away from my extended hand only to tip out of his chair. Al laughed while drinking his tea, while Ed fumed on the ground.

"You little-!" Ed shook his fist at me from his spot on the floor.

"Brother, be nice." Al helped Ed stand while he grumbled under his breath. I finished my last bite and put my plate in the sink.

The clock on the wall read '7:52'. Al put Ed and his own plate in the sink as well as his glass. Ed pulled on his white gloves.

When I first met the Elric brothers, I thought that Ed just hates germs, but I now understand their true purpose.

I tugged on my gym shoes while Ed and Al walked toward the front door. I filed out after the brothers and paused for Al while he locked the door. Ed ruffled Al's short gold hair.

* * *

 **Al's POV:**

I peered into an alley and saw a disheveled kitten. Ann paused a few paces in front of me.

"What is it Al?" I looked towards her for a second before turning back to the feline.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up to you in a second." She shrugged and started to walk again with one of her earbuds in. I walked into the alley and crouched next to the dirty stray.

"Hey little guy... what are you doing out here." the cat jumped into my lap and nuzzled against my blue T-shirt.

I patted it on the head gently and scooped it into my arms. "Do you want to come home with me?"

I walked out of the alley with the cat on tow, and eventually caught up with Ann. She eyed the cat wearily.

"Al... your brother is going to be furious." I shook my head.

"He's at work right now, and since we aren't traveling now he has no excuse but to let me keep him!" I smiled down at the cat and stroked the fur under its chin.

"If you say so..."

* * *

After I washed the cat, I let it roam around the room. I decided to name Pumpkin after it's orange fur.

Pumpkin jumped onto the tan couch and stretched before laying down. I walked into the kitchen and cooked some ground beef before placing it in a glass bowl. I returned to the living room and set the bowl on the floor. The cat jumped from he sofa and towards the bowl.

* * *

 **Ed's POV:**

I trudged off the bus after a long day of sweeping floors, cleaning toilets and dealing with bitchy costumers. I'm just GLAD that that shifts over with... I do have to work tomorrow as well, but I didn't really want to think about that.

I opened the front door and something small and orange lunged at my face and started scratching the shit out of me. I screeched and tried to pry the thing off but it kept using my face as some scratch post until Al finally pulled it off.

Al hid the thing in our bedroom, and dragged me to the restroom. He cleaned and bandaged my face.

"What the hell was that Al?!" Al looked at me with a sheepish look on his face.

"That was Pumpkin... He's my new cat-"

"You got a cat without my consent?! And you named the mangy thing? That 'cat' I yours used ME as a scratching post!" Al looked apologetic, but had a determined look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry about that... Pumpkin just was excited that's all, and we're keeping him. You can't use our traveling as an excuse to not let me keep him!" I gritted my teeth.

"Do you know how many diseases that thing could have?!" Al tapped his finger on his chin.

"No, but I could take him to the vet to get checked out." I tapped my foot impatiently from my seat on the toilet.

"That requires money Al. Which is something we're lacking. I barely have enough to pay the rent and keep us both fed. How are we suppose to support a cat when we can barely take care of ourselves?!" Al looked conflicted and his fists clenched.

"Then I can get a job too."! I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Your 14 Al. Your not old enough to get a job. if you really want to keep this cat... then I suppose I can ask for a few more hours. Other than that, that... thing is your responsibility." He stood dumbfounded for a moment before he started jumping around in joy.

"Thanks brother, I won't let you down." I waved him away.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Now get out so I can shower."

* * *

 **Ann's POV:**

I sat on my bed and doodled on the side of my history homework. I hate history... my phone vibrated and I peered at the screen.

 _'Hey Ann, Ed let me keep Pumpkin! Do you want to come over and do homework? I'm making grilled cheese tonight."_

Hmmm... Grilled cheese does sound good right now. I typed my response.

 _'Sure, I'll be over in a bit.'_

I stuffed my phone into my school bag and slung it over my back before brushing the small tangles out with my fingers. I shoved my shoes on while shouting to my mother.

"I'm going to Alphonse's house, I'll be back before eleven!" I pushed open my bedroom door and took the stairs two at a time.

"Alright, I love you." My mother's voice resonated near the kitchen. I pulled open the front door.

"Love you too." I shut the door and ran to the bus stop.

* * *

I tapped my pencil thoughtfully. We're studying WWII.

 _'What is containment?'_

That ones easy. I looked up at Al who sat across from he on the bed. He was reading from the textbook with a thoughtful look on his face. This all must be new to him, considering he came from a place with an entirely different background. I'll have to ask him about it later. I scribbled down a few more answers.

"Hey Ann..." I looked up to Al's brown eyes. I set my worksheet to the side.

"What's up?" He shuffled closer to me and handed me his paper.

"I can't figure this one out." My face flushed from the proximity

"W-which one?" I cursed myself internally. He brushed my hand accidentally when he went to point at question five.

"Oh. 'What is containment?'" I read off. "That ones easy." I handed back his paper. "Containment is the restriction of communism in its present or current borders." He quickly copied what I said and flashed me a smile.

"Thanks Ann!" He scooted away from me and continued working. I frowned slightly.

"No problem."

* * *

 **Ed's POV:**

I jerked open the front door and threw down the bags of groceries.

"I'm home!" I tossed the keys on the coffee table. I heard some shuffling from my bedroom and Al and Ann barged through the door, with Pumpkin on Ann's head.

"Welcome home brother!" Al ran up to me and picked up the bag of groceries and rushing off into the kitchen. Ann plucked the orange cat off her head and cradled it in her arms.

"Hey shorty." She plopped down on the couch an let the squirming feline go. My ears heated up.

"Who are you-" Al returned to the room and cut me off.

"Brother, be nice, and Ann stop provoking him." I twitched in anger but didn't comment further.

He scooped up Pumpkin and placed him on his shoulder.

"What did I do?" Al just rolled his eyes before heading back into the kitchen. I glared at Ann.

"Hey Ed, I have a riddle for you." I flopped down besides her on the couch and stretched.

"Shoot."

"What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money?" I sat up straight and tapped my chin thoughtfully.

I'm stumped.

"What is it?" She smiled widely.

"You'll have to figure it out yourself." I gave her an exasperated look. I opened my mouth to argue. "Guys, it's time to eat." I sighed and followed Ann to kitchen and sat at the table.

"Hey Al." Ann swallowed a bite of her grilled cheese. "In an hour or so I have to go home." Al took a bite.

"Okay, that's probably enough time to finish our homework." I took a chunk out of my sandwich.

"Tell me the answer to the damn riddle." Ann bit her food.

"No." Al laughed.

"What's the riddle?" I glared at the she devil.

"What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money?" I took another bite.

"Oh... that's easy it's-" Ann covered Al's mouth.

"Don't tell him! It's fun to watch him suffer!" I took my last bite and tossed my plate in the sink.

Pumpkin nuzzled Al's face from it's perch on his shoulder. Glaring at the both of them, I walked to Al and I's room. Pulling out some sweatpants and boxers, I walked to the bathroom.

* * *

"I got it!" I hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist and ran out the door. I rammed my door open.

"It's a river!" Ann looked absolutely shell-shocked, before she screamed and threw her textbook at me. The book hit me in the center of my forehead and I flew backwards.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ann's face was buried in the blankets. I sat up angrily and rubbed my forehead.

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you?! You chucked a book at my forehead, are you trying to kill me?!"

"Put some damn clothes in you midget!"

"Who the hell are you call-" Al stood up red faced and fuming.

"Brother, put some clothes on! Ann, don't chuck books at people!" We were quiet for a second before Al laughed.

"What's so funny Al?" I looked at him curiously.

"Ann reminded me of Winry when she threw that book at you."

"I know... I think I have a scar from all those wrenches..." I rubbed my forehead in a soothing manner.

I wonder what Winry's doing right about now...

* * *

 _XxXWeAsHumanXxX: My poor puppy, CoCo, sprained his leg by falling down the stairs. T-T_


End file.
